Week 16

Since I won't see about half my classes this week, we are playing catch up and having some free time. 

HAVE A SAFE THANKSGIVING BREAK

Week 15

1st - This week we are glazing our pinch pots!  Glazing means using a special paint that turns to glass when it gets really hot.  After we glaze our pots, I will put them back into the kiln to be 'fired.' Once they come out they will be bright colors with a beautiful shine.

2nd - After finishing up our Peter Max project, we are having an "artist" week.  Their choices this week will be tempera and watercolor painting, oil pastel, drawing, coloring, and collage. 

3rd - While our coil pots are drying, I used this week to show third graders another way of making a pot.  Using a potter's wheel, I created a couple different pieces for the students.  After I created for a bit, I let each student get on the wheel and feel the clay and what it's like to be a potter!

4th - We are finishing up our clay maracas this week by adding all of our extra pieces to make our maracas unique.  The students are coming up with great ideas.  Cats, dogs, aliens, robots, people, and just clever designs have all been created.  It is very exciting to see all of our pieces turn out.  These artworks will be fired in the kiln after Thanksgiving and we'll paint them during that first week of December.

Week 14

1st - All first graders had an "Artist" week.  This is where they decide what they want to make and how they will make it.  Students picked from watercolor and tempera painting, oil pastel, drawing, and collage.  This is always a very good time for the students. 

2nd - Second grade finished up their Peter Max project where we worked with gradation and creating leaves.  Gradation is where one color moves very slowly into another color.  It looks pretty groovy!  To finish up our project we stapled, cut, and designed the other side of our leaf.  All the leaves will be hanging up in the school entry way for Grandparents Day.

3rd - This week all third graders made their coil pots.  After learning about Lucy Lewis, a Native American potter who used the coil method, we started our own coil pots.  Clay is always a great time!

4th - All fourth graders are working on making clay maracas.  This week we created two pinch pots and stuck them together will little clay pebbles inside for rattles.  Next week we will be adding all the extra pieces on to make our maracas truly unique!

Week 13

1st Grade - All first graders are studying the clay artist Lucy Lewis.  She was a Native American potter who lived in New Mexico.  She made coil pots with images of deer and zig zag designs.  We are making our own pots called pinch pots.  They are made by pinching the clay into a bowl shape.  After we pinched our pots we created designs on the outside.  Here are some student examples of the work!

2nd Grade - All second graders are still working on their Peter Max project.  Last week, we started creating leaves.  This week we are painting wet-on-wet.  This means that we get our paper wet and then use watercolors to paint on it.  Doing this helps things blend together.  When one color blends into another color this is called gradation.  The students did a great job!

3rd Grade - All third graders are working on coil pots.  Students studied artist Lucy Lewis and her coil pots.  We looked at several pots with different designs on it.   Lucy was a Native American potter.  This week students watched a demonstration and practiced building coils.  Next week, we'll start building our pots!

4th Grade - Fourth grade is working on a clay maraca.  Archaeologists have found that ancient Mayan people made clay maracas.  These students watched a demonstration and started some sketches of different ideas that they had. 



Kiwanis Christmas Artwork Contest

Kiwanis Club of Danville

The Kiwanis Club of Danville is sponsoring its fourth annual Christmas artwork design contest. This art contest is open to any student that lives in the Danville Community School Corporation school district, but shall exclude Kiwanis family members. Four pieces of artwork will be selected from each one of the following age categories:

(1)  Kindergarten thru Second grade

(2)  Third and Fourth Grade

(3)  Middle School—Fifth thru Eighth

(4)  High School

Prizes/ Gift Certificates will be awarded accordingly, as well as recognition in the newspaper with the student’s picture and picture of the artwork. The artwork will also be displayed in the Art Gallery on the Square in Danville for the month of December.

Artwork should be designed by the child with no direct assistance of an adult. Drawings can be in pencil, crayon, paint (water or oil), mixed media. All work must be original and can not include trademark names of a product.

        Rules

1)     Student must live in the Danville Community School District

2)     Work must be original

3)     Work must have a Christmas related theme

4)     Work must be flat (not 3 dimensional)

5)     Drawings can be in pencil, crayon, paint (water or oil), mixed media

6)     Work can be no larger than 8 ½ x11 in. white paper

7)     Work becomes the property of Kiwanis Club of Danville

8)     Prizes/ Gift Certificates will be awarded in each category.

9)     Awards will be announced before December 17, 2010.

10)  Deadline for entries will be December 3, 2010

Please send entries to: (Do not fold or bend)

You may also return to your art teacher OR Danville Public Library

Kiwanis Club of Danville

P.O. Box 213

Danville, In. 46122

Please send entries to: (Do not fold or bend)

Kiwanis Club of Danville

P.O. Box 213

Danville, In. 46122

You may also return to your art teacher OR Danville Public Library

Student Information:

Student Name: _____________________________________Age: ___

Address: ______________________________City_______________State_____Zip________

School: _________________________________

Art Teacher: ___________________________

Parental Consent: 

I give permission for my child to submit the attached artwork and for Kiwanis Club of Danville to use my child's name and/or school in this contest and other media material which would identify him/her as a student.

Neither my child nor I will receive any monetary benefit from this contest. My child may receive modest rewards if selected. The artwork is original and is not copyrighted. The artwork becomes the property of the Kiwanis Club of Danville upon submission. I agree to all the rules as stated in this entry form and the contest rules.  All entries must be received by December 3, 2010

Rules

1)    Student must live in the Danville Community School District

2)    Work must be original

3)    Work must have a Christmas related theme

4)    Work must be flat (not 3 dimensional)

5)    Drawings can be in pencil, crayon, paint (water or oil), mixed media

6)    Work can be no larger than 8 ½ x11 in. white paper

7)    Work becomes the property of Kiwanis Club of Danville

8)    Prizes/ Gift Certificates will be awarded in each category.

9)    Awards will be announced before December 17, 2010.

10)  Deadline for entries will be December 3, 2010. 

Parent Signature: _____________________________________Date:___________________

Week 12

1st Grade - Boo!  Watch out for those first graders they might just scare you.  After studying how Pablo Picasso liked African masks, we made our own crazy mask.  Using colored construction paper, we drew and cut eyes along with creating a shape for our mask.  After getting the basic mask done, we flipped it over and started creating our designs.

2nd Grade - Groovy Gradation!  All second graders are studying Peter Max and how he used gradation.  Gradation means to gradually move from one color to another.  It looks very smooth through blending.  We connected gradation with what is happening with the leaves outside.  After looking at a couple pieces of Peter Max's artwork, we started creating our own leaves.  Some students drew realistic leaves, while others made up their own creative leaves.  Next week we will be painting our leaves with a new watercolor technique!

3rd and 4th Grades - After working on our masks for the last month, we have finished them!!!  This week I will be hanging up several artworks from each class for the "Scare Away Drugs" contest.  During art class this week, we will have an 'Artist' day.  This means the students can choose what kind of artwork they want to make and how they will make it.  This is very rewarding after such a long project like mask making!

Week 11

Have a safe and enjoyable fall break!

Week 10

1st Grade - All first graders are finishing their Jasper Johns painting this week.  We have been practicing painting with stencils.  The students first picked out a colored paper and a stencil and went to it.   Some are writing their names and others are just using different colors to create a "mess." (as one student called it)

2nd Grade - All second graders will have an 'artist' week.  After finishing their Chuck Close painting, many are learning about tempera paints and how to use them.  This "artist" week students will be able to practice their skills more with a project of their own. 

3rd and 4th Grade -  All of South has been working on their Red Ribbon Week "Scare Away Drugs" masks.  This week we are finishing up coloring our paper plates and we'll start decorating the mask with yarn, beads, etc.  If you have any of these things at home make sure to bring them in!

Week 9

1st - All first graders are studying the artist Jasper Johns.  Jasper Johns was a painter who used lots of letters and numbers in his artwork.  This week we are exploring art through using stencils.  Using tempera paint, we place a stencil on our paper and begin to create.  Some students are creating their names, other students are using numbers, and a few are making the whole alphabet!

2nd - In second grade we are finishing up our project where we studied Chuck Close.  Last week we learned that Chuck Close created a portrait by using his fingerprints.  We started painting with our fingerprints.  The students had a blast!

3rd  and 4th - All of South Elementary is working on their Red Ribbon Week masks.   Last week we started designing our masks.  This week we are starting to put them together.  Most students got their mask colored with marker, crayon, or colored pencil.  Next week students will be adding decorations to their mask.   If you have any decorations that your child could use please send it with them!

Week 8

1st Grade - All first graders are starting an "artist" week.  I am adding tempera paint to the painting center.  Tempera is a thick, creamy paint that is much different that watercolor paint.  We also have the choice to use oil pastel this week since we have used these once this year already. 

2nd Grade - Second grade is starting to paint their self-portraits.  We are doing it in a very interesting way with our fingerprints.  Chuck Close made a portrait where he used only his fingerprints to creat the picture.  An example of his work is below.

3rd and 4th Grade - This week all of South Elementary is starting their Red Ribbon Week project.  Each year the students make a "Scare Away Drugs" mask.  We will be using a paper plate and then anything the students bring from home (yarn, string, buttons, etc).  On October 29th the masks will be judged by the teachers at South.  The categories for this year's contest is Most Creative, Best AR Book Character, Nicest Looking, and Funniest.  Good Luck!  Below are some examples of the students' first ideas!

Week 7

1st Grade - We finished up our Keith Haring characters by adding oil pastel and then displayed them all over the school.  We learned that when your art is out where everyone can see it, it is called public art.  The first graders had a lot of fun with this one.

2nd Grade - We started learning about an artist names Chuck Close.  Chuck Close loves painting and drawing portrait.  A portrait is a picture of a person.  We started drawing pictures of ourselves while looking in a mirror.  This is a self-portrait.  Next week we'll start painting them!

3rd and 4th Grades - After having several "Apprentice"  weeks of studying Pablo Picasso and T.C. Steele, all of my classes at South started their first "Artist" week which means they choose what they want to make and how they will create it.  This is a great time for everyone.  Many of my students are bursting at the seams by this time to do something of their own.  It is very exciting for me to watch them go.  This week we had a drawing center and watercolor painting center open.  Many students did both of these!

Week 6

1st and 2nd graders are studying the artist Keith Haring.  We remember his name by rubbing our hair and then acting like we ring a bell; hair-ring.  Keith Haring was a famous artist who made lots of public art.  We talked about public art and how lots of people see it.  Mr. Haring made his art down in the New York City subway stations.  After studying Keith Haring, 2nd graders went outside to make contour drawings of each other's bodies.  We did this at a place around the school where lots of people go, so we made public art.  1st graders each picked a colored piece of large construction paper and drew people on them.  After drawing the bodies we cut them out.  Next week we will be using oil pastel to create designs on our cutout body.  Down below is a picture of Keith Haring creating his artwork in a New York City subway station.
 

Artists of the Month

Each month I pick eight artists from North and South Elementary Schools to be the Artists of the Month.  These students worked very hard and came up with creative artworks!  Congratulations!

Week 5

My 3rd and 4th grade classes did some 'en plein air' painting this week.  'En plein air' is a french saying meaning 'in the open air' which, of course means we went outside to paint!  In 3rd grade we studied the artist Thomas Moran.  He was a landscape artist and explorer who painted the western United States before many people had seen it.  Moran was a big part of making Yellowstone our first National Park!  4th graders studied the artist T.C. Steele.  T.C. Steele was an Indiana artist who painted 'en plein air.'  Instead of going to New York City or Paris, Steele enjoyed painting right here in Indiana!  After looking at pictures from these artists, we headed outside to create our own 'en plein air' painting.  We've had a beautiful week to be outside painting.

1st and 2nd graders had their first "Artist" day.  An "Artist" day is where the students are the master artists.  Instead of studying a master artist like Henri Matisse, Paul Klee, Michelangelo, or Pablo Picasso, the students must come up with their own ideas and how they will create their masterpiece.  Many students paint and draw different things.  They draw from a books, animal figurines, real life, or just something that they think of in their imagination!  The students love these days because they have more decision-making power.

Week 4

1st Grade - We are studying the artist Helen Frankenthaler and her soak stain painting technique.  After looking at several of her artworks, I demonstrate how watercolor paint.  We learn a three step process: go for a swim (with your brush), drag and dry, and pet the paint.  Afterwards we are ready to go!  This is a very exciting project because we get to do something we never normally do and that is to paint on the table.  Yes, we paint right on the table.  When we finish our painting, we take a piece of watercolor paper and push down on top of the painting. All those beautiful colors 'soak' into the paper and 'stain' it.  The kids were really creavitive with the whole process and really enjoyed being surprised by the results.

2nd Grade - All 2nd graders are finishing up their Paul Klee pictures.  This week we are watercolor painting the pictures that we created with crayon last week.  The watercolor paint goes right on top of the crayon, but doesn't cover it up.   The results are pretty magical.

3rd Grade - We are finishing our study of Michelangelo and the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.  Last week students went underneath their desk and paintings on the 'ceilings' of their tables to get a feeling of how Michelangelo might have felt.  This week we are back on top of the tables and just finishing things up. Next week we'll be starting a new project.

4th Grade - Our Pablo Picasso projects are wrapping up.  This week we are cutting out all of our eyes, noses, ears, etc. and glueing them onto a new sheet of paper.  After that we draw and color in a new face.  The results are fantastic.

Week 3

We are well into our third week of school and our art projects are coming along. 

In first grade we are finishing up our Henri Matisse oceans.  Mr. Matisse loved to cut out shapes and so we have been cutting out different shapes for sea creatures and gluing them onto our ocean paper.  I will have some examples of student work up soon!

In second grade we are continuing work on our Paul Klee oceans.  Paul Klee (pronounced Clay) was a master of color, shape, and line.  This week we finished drawing our oceans with crayon and making designs.   Next week we will be watercoloring painting!

In third grade we are studying Michelangelo (pronounced meek-uh-lan-gello).  We looked at his famous work of art, the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.  Michelangelo loved drawing the human body so we are working on our drawing skills and trying to make people look more realistic.  For a creative twist, we became little Michelangelo by taping our paper to the bottom of the desk and then sketching on our backs.  The students had great fun with that part, along with a couple sore necks!

In fourth grade we have been learning about Pablo Picasso.  We learned that he did lots of abstract artwork.  Abstract artists usually change the color, shape, size, and spacing of things in their picture.  This week we were coloring different faces.  Next week we will cut out and create a brand new face.   It will be quite the crazy experiment.

The First Projects of the Year!

This year in art class we will have lots of different projects using different kinds of art tools and materials. On certain weeks, we will have “Apprentice” weeks. These weeks will involve being an ‘apprentice’ to a master artist. We will study an artist and their artwork. After learning about the artist we will create a project based off of some of their work. On other weeks we will have “Artist” days. This means that my students will have to be the ‘master’ artist. They will come up with their own ideas and decide what materials they want to use to create their project. I believe doing these two different kinds of weeks will create a balance of learning about art history and giving the students full creative power!


In first grade we are studying the artist Henri Matisse (prounounced On-ree Muh-teece). We learned that Henri Matisse loved art so much that even when he couldn't paint anymore because he was too old, he enjoyed cutting paper and gluing it together. Because our theme this year at North Elementary is ocean, we studied his artwork called Beasts of the Sea. After looking at his shapes, we learned that organic shapes are shapes that use curved lines and geometric shapes are ones that use straight lines. Can you name a couple organic and geometric shapes? The first graders then started to cut our their own 'beasts of the sea.' We worked on cutting and gluing just like Henri Matisse.

Second graders are learning about the artist Paul Klee (pronounced Paul Clay). We looked at several of his different paintings that he made about different fish and the ocean. We also talked about how Paul Klee used all different kinds of lines to create his pictures. Zig zag, wavy, bumpy, dotted, and straight lines are all used in Paul Klee’s artworks to create his picture. Another line we talk about is a horizon line. A horizon line is where the sky and earth appear to meet each other. We started our projects by folding up our white paper into rectangles. Klee loved to use rectangles in squares in his artwork. Afterwards we drew pictures of things in the sky and things we see in the ocean. After working in pencil, we traced our lines with waxy crayon. Next week we’ll be painting with watercolor paint!

Third grade studied the artist Michelangelo (pronounced Meek-uh-lange-uh-low not Mike-langelo). Try saying it in your best Italian accent! We watched some short clips from a cartoon movie about Michelangelo. After discussing some of the facts that stood out to the kids, we talked about how Michelangelo loved making art with people in it. He studied the human body and liked to draw in a realistic way. We got out a big white paper to practice drawing people. Next week is the most exciting part of the project…but we’ll keep that a secret until then!

Fourth graders started working on a project based off the master artist Pablo Picasso. Pablo Picasso was introduced to the students by a special guest lecturer Pablo Potato (yes, a Mr. Potato head with a rearranged face). We studied Pablo Potato’s face and then talked about abstract art. We learned that an abstract artist will change the color, size, shape, and space of things in their painting. We then brainstormed about different faces; puppy, clown, mean, excited faces. Afterwards I gave each student two pieces of small white paper. They were to draw two totally different faces on them. After drawing and coloring the faces, we will cut them out to rearrange them next week.

Welcome Back!

Summer vacation has come to a close.  All the students are back to school.  I am very excited this year to be teaching at North Elementary as well at South Elementary.  In the coming weeks and months, I will be using this blog to keep both parents and students up-to-date with what is happening in my art classrooms.  This blog will let you know what projects we are working on right now.  It will also be a tool to celebrate the artwork of my students.  My goal is to have every student in my class be pictured on this blog by the end of the school year.  Again, I am so excited to be back teaching art in Danville.  If you ever need to contact me please email me at msmith@danville.k12.in.us.  I'm looking forward to a great year filled with creativity and hard work!

On my way home...

‘Magnificently lush’ may be the best way to describe Glacier National Park. The green of everything grabs your eyes like no other park on this trip. There are the mountains that resemble the Tetons and Zion. The rivers echo Kings Canyon. The grandeur of Yosemite and Grand Canyon are evident here in Glacier. It is a park of parks and it is punctuated by all of the plants that grow through it. The wildflowers accent all of the green with purple, yellow, red, and orange. Glacier National Park is truly an artist’s paradise.

Going-to-the-Sun road was a terrific overview of the park. This road stretches from the west side through the park to the east side. The road is lined with mountains, waterfalls, valleys, and of course glaciers. Driving Going-to-the-Sun took about four hours. With so many ups and downs, along with construction, it is quite the feat to complete the drive. It is definitely a day’s activity. To change things up, I made sure to get a nice long hike in. I picked a route to Grinnell Glacier. Grinnell Glacier is one of the most famous glaciers and it is named after George Bird Grinnell, one of the people who worked hard to make the Glacier area a national park. This eleven mile hike goes through dense forest and up to alpine terrain. Along the way there are several beautiful lakes. One of the lakes, Joesphine Lake, is the craziest green color. Higher up is Grinnell Lake which is covered with ice! Of course, I had to take a little dip into the water, just to say I did J. It was incredibly cold. I stayed in for eleven seconds, my own personal record. I did, however, see a girl later that day jump all the way in…and I thought I was crazy. On the way down, I was lucky enough to see a couple of Big Horn Sheep. These creatures are so cool. The whole hike back to camp was a lovely experience; a perfect capstone to this trip!

I have officially left Glacier National Park which means I am kind of done with my trip in a way. It is very sad in one way and joyful in another. I’m sad to leave a trip where I was so lucky to see so many beautiful places. On the other hand, I am excited to be back teaching and not living out of my car J. The last six weeks have been an amazing creative period of my life. I have never been such a productive painter! The National Parks that I visited were so inspiring in many ways. Gigantic mountains, furious rivers, massive glaciers, dry desert sand, and so much more of our lovely earth have left their impression on me. I have found these beautiful places to be a place of renewal and I know that millions of other people have had this same thought. We are lucky to live in a world where people find these areas unique enough to sit them aside for viewing pleasure. If you have never seen any of these parks in the western US I highly encourage you to find the time and put forth the effort to make a trip like this come true. Cheers to an incredible experience!!!

Pictures from Glacier National Park

Big Horn Sheep at Grinnell Lake

Tiptoe-ing through icy glacier water!

View of Grinnell Glacier and Josephine Lake

The start of a painting outside my camping spot

Small waterfall on the way up to Grinnell Glacier

Beargrass in front of Grinnell Glacier

A Yellowstone Update

On the road away from Yellowstone and traffic has finally eased. Yellowstone National Park has been by far the busiest place on this trip. Long lines at the grocery and longer lines of cars at every turn could easily categorize Yellowstone, but then you must ask why. This park has an incredible amount of natural treasures to offer. Geysers, hot springs, and mud volcanoes all give Yellowstone a unique landscape that no other park has given me on this journey. I wrote a little bit about Old Faithful in my last blog entry, but there are many other geysers. The Great Fountain Geyser was my favorite. It look blew up more water than any geyser I saw and it had these terraces that made it look like the geyser had hundreds of little waterfalls. The Grand Prismatic Spring was a very colorful, very hot pool of water. Because of the high temperature of the water only a few microorganisms called thermophiles can live there. These thermophiles are very colorful little things and give the water bright orange, green, and yellow colors. The brightness of the water makes it look unreal. Mud volcanoes might be the most interesting of all. The Fountain Paint Pot was a great bubbly mess. It looked like liquid clay just boiling and popping everywhere. Very surreal!

The weather was the wildest here at Yellowstone. One night it was so cold that our breath froze to the sides of the tent. On another evening, I was hiking along at sundown and clouds started to pass over. Next thing I knew, little pieces of hail were falling out of the sky. During the daytime, it was hot and sunny and at night, very cold. It was nothing like Indiana weather. Not that I miss those 90 degree days with 95% humidity J.

For this park, I decided to paint at the Lower Falls of Yellowstone River. There is a gigantic waterfall there. The water has this awesome green color to it and the canyon walls leading down to the river are yellow, orange, and gray. Beautiful! I worked on this painting longer than any other on the trip. I had so much fun with it. While painting, I fell into a trance where I lost track of time. These times are the best. Whenever I can lose track of time because I am in love with what I’m doing is a real blessing! Photographs of the first sketches of the Lower Falls are up on the blog, but since I lost myself with painting, I forgot to take a final picture! Coming soon: Mr. Smith’s final painting of the Lower Falls.

The Great Prismatic Spring

Great Fountain Geyser (The Picture Doesn't Do It Justice)

Lower Falls at Yellowstone RIver

Four Sketches on the Back of my Canvas

A Final Sketch Before Painting

Although He Looks Small This Was A Big Bison!

Hot Spring Terraces

A Yellowstone Update

On the road away from Yellowstone and traffic has finally eased. Yellowstone National Park has been by far the busiest place on this trip. Long lines at the grocery and longer lines of cars at every turn could easily categorize Yellowstone, but then you must ask why. This park has an incredible amount of natural treasures to offer. Geysers, hot springs, and mud volcanoes all give Yellowstone a unique landscape that no other park has given me on this journey. I wrote a little bit about Old Faithful in my last blog entry, but there are many other geysers. The Great Fountain Geyser was my favorite. It look blew up more water than any geyser I saw and it had these terraces that made it look like the geyser had hundreds of little waterfalls. The Grand Prismatic Spring was a very colorful, very hot pool of water. Because of the high temperature of the water only a few microorganisms called thermophiles can live there. These thermophiles are very colorful little things and give the water bright orange, green, and yellow colors. The brightness of the water makes it look unreal. Mud volcanoes might be the most interesting of all. The Fountain Paint Pot was a great bubbly mess. It looked like liquid clay just boiling and popping everywhere. Very surreal!

The weather was the wildest here at Yellowstone. One night it was so cold that our breath froze to the sides of the tent. On another evening, I was hiking along at sundown and clouds started to pass over. Next thing I knew, little pieces of hail were falling out of the sky. During the daytime, it was hot and sunny and at night, very cold. It was nothing like Indiana weather. Not that I miss those 90 degree days with 95% humidity J.

For this park, I decided to paint at the Lower Falls of Yellowstone River. There is a gigantic waterfall there. The water has this awesome green color to it and the canyon walls leading down to the river are yellow, orange, and gray. Beautiful! I worked on this painting longer than any other on the trip. I had so much fun with it. While painting, I fell into a trance where I lost track of time. These times are the best. Whenever I can lose track of time because I am in love with what I’m doing is a real blessing! Photographs of the first sketches of the Lower Falls are up on the blog, but since I lost myself with painting, I forgot to take a final picture! Coming soon: Mr. Smith’s final painting of the Lower Falls.

From the Tetons to Old Faithful

I just finished watching Old Faithful blow in Yellowstone National Park. If you’ve never seen Old Faithful, it is a hole in the earth that has water inside it that shoots out! When it erupts, kind of like a volcano, it looks just like someone was underground with a fire hose and they are trying to put out a big fire. They gave Old Faithful its name because it is the most ‘faithful’ of the geysers and erupts about every 90 minutes. Very cool.

Before this evening’s wonderful display of nature, I spent the last several days painting, photographing, and hiking in Grand Teton National Park. It is very close to Yellowstone. In fact, they are pretty much connected. The Tetons do not have any “Old Faithfuls” but they do have some incredible mountains. The Teton mountain range is the most beautiful series of mountains I have seen on this trip. While they are not the tallest mountains I have seen, they appear very tall because they look like they rise right out of the ground. I learned that there is a fault line (this is where earthquakes happen) right by the Teton mountain range. Through lots of earthquakes, some really big and some small, the Tetons have rose and rose. Actually, they are still rising little bit by little bit. After running around the park for the day we found an incredible spot to camp just outside the park. The view of the Tetons were awesome. With nothing in the way, I just gazed at these incredible rocks.

The next day I headed to Jenny Lake to paint. The view of Teewinot Mountain was so close up that it seemed to be towering over me! I found a great spot to set up my easel in the shade. I enjoyed watching the ferry boats and canoes full of families make their way around the lake. It was a beautiful day. I started by painting Teewinot. Teewinot mountain has a very interesting contour. The top of the mountain goes up and down, up, up, down, down, and everything in between. It was a lot of fun to paint because there were lots of different colors and shapes involved in the landscape scene. While painting it, I felt like I was trying to put together a funky puzzle of shapes! My next painting was of Jenny Lake. I thought this might be a challenge because there weren’t as many shapes and colors as the painting of Teewinot mountain. After working for a couple hours on the Jenny Lake painting, the whole canvas was covered and really beginning to take shape. It was by far my most realistic painting yet. No coincidence, I hated it. The painting seemed really boring to me. I like the bright colors and intense shapes of my other paintings. While I really was looking to do something different, I just couldn’t. So I started adding waves to the lake and more intense colors into the bush in the foreground. I just went kind of crazy! While I’m still not sure how I feel about the painting, I enjoy it more than before. That’s why when you really don’t like something, just put up with it a little longer or change the thing all together!

The last couple of days have been spent hiking in the backcountry. Backcountry here in the Tetons is remote and gorgeous. There are so many waterfalls, creeks, and wildlife. While hiking back to our camping spot we stopped by a beautiful waterfall called Hidden Falls and an overlook called Inspiration Point. It would have been nice to do a painting there….very inspirational. We hiked seven or eight miles back in the woods and right under the Tetons. Our camping spot was right near a rushing river. It was great to hear that sound all night. In the morning we woke up and took off towards the car. On the way we saw more rivers and waterfalls, but the prize came with some close up encounters of a moose. It was feeding on plants right by the trail. I hiked up really close to it. In fact, I was too close. As I was taking a picture of it (you should see it on the blog), she started to charge at me. She took a couple steps towards me and ducked her head towards me. I quickly moved back and she stopped. I was lucky! I live to see another day, paint another painting, and write another story.

Pictures of the Grand Teton National Park